Definatly make a level editor. When I made a level editor for my side scroller it took about 2-3 days. (it was a crappy one however.)

Sorry I dont know much about scripting languages.

Nice....... what happened to asteroids[grin]?

Btw,if one does not want to use an array to keep track of the map, what are the other options available?

Also any ideas about eliminating unecessary searches?

Any useful links?



(heap,I too am in a similar situation )
oh, you will need a real ninja and some advanced ninjas for bonuses and stuff like that ;).

Here's a link
http://www.sheepsheet.com/_gaming/ninjasprites/ninjasprites.htm

Yea that's cool


Reminds me, how to stuff like explsions,bangs,poofs etc effects?use more sprites?

Quote:Original post by FireNet
Btw,if one does not want to use an array to keep track of the map, what are the other options available?

vectors (the c++ kind not the math kind) becase then you can have your map any size you want instead of using an array where you always have to use the same map size.

hi heap,

first of all, i would strongly recommend making your own level editor. it might seem difficult in theory, but i can tell you it is NOT. if you can make the game, the editor is much easier. in fact, you can cut and paste the game code into a new project, change a few things, and poof, you have a functioning level editor. theres only a few differences

1)theres no enemies or anything (DUH!)
2)when the user clicks on the screen, you change the tile he clicked on to whatever the "Currently selected tile" is. IE, you find out where he clicked on, convert it to tile coordinates, then do something like map[clickedy][clickedx] = currently_selected_tile. thats it! add scrolling abilities to the map (like in the game) and you are good to go. then you can set-up a way for the user to add tiles, and scroll through the list of tiles (where you can cycle your "currently selected tile" through your pool of tiles ) you can add more functionality over time. you would want to build the game as you build the level editor anyway. there will be new features you add to the game that will effect the editor.

secondly, i definetly recommend trying out Lua. if theres one thing i have learned, its that doing things earlier, on smaller projects, will greatly help you when you want to use the same thing on a larger project. for example, making my map editor for my pacman clone, and using time based movement in my pong clone, had helped me ALOT when i started making my 2d RPG. if i hadnt done those things in earlier games, it would have just made my life harder.

lastly, i have some advice for you. making a side scroller is not an easy task that you can just throw togeather real quick. it (should) take you at least couple of months to make. i was in a similar situation as you about 6 months ago. i had finished my pacman type clone and wanted to make a side scroller, so i could move up to an RPG. i started work on the sidescroller, and i realized that it was a lot more work then i thought. i said "screw it", and turned my source into an RPG. 6 months later i have a pretty nice engine, with layers, map changing, scriptable NPC's, enemies, pathfinding, particle effects, etc., and im working on the netcode as we speak. im not saying you should say "screw it" too, but you might want to think about just diving into the RPG. you might just be ready for it.

by the way, you can find my old pacman type game (donkey punch adventure) at my website click on the "DPA" page. it comes with the source and a linux version as well. check out the level editor, it will give you an idea on how simple a level editor can be. be carefull though, that code was done when i was very new, and is probably sloppy, but it should give you an idea on what im talking about.

good luck!